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Blue Skies and Blue Prints

Hurricane Earl blew up the East Coast as a fitting exclamation mark to end what has been a glorious and very Caribbean-like summer here on Cape Cod. Hazy blue-skies were the norm, and temperatures fluctuated between 80ºF and 90ºF in the welcome sea breezes that propelled the never-ending flotilla of yachts that bobbed across Nantucket Sound.

For Annabelle and me it was our first summer on Cape Cod as we began the planning and design work for our Cape Cod bed and breakfast, The Platinum Pebble, in Harwich. Our days have been a mix of local explorations, winding our way past colorful explosions of rhododendrons and hydrangeas to sink our toes into the warm sand of local beaches, and information gathering excursions relishing our chance to be sightseers to Cape Cod’s myriad of attractions.

During August our sightseeing took us all the way along route 6 to historic Provincetown, the site where The Pilgrim Fathers first encountered North America. Here we meandered through the streets soaking up the history, the colorful atmosphere and the even more colorful locals!

As we’d been fortunate enough to enjoy whale-watching on previous trips, we decided to focus this visit on a hunt through the small art galleries that dot the town in search of a local piece of art that would be a fitting addition to our new boutique inn. As the afternoon drifted into evening and our feet were beginning to wish that they’d spent the day being massaged by sand, we entered the Cortile Gallery on Commercial Street. There our attention was captured by a small, blue print of Pilgrim Monument. It was a simple yet strikingly beautiful picture and its wonderful blue color was strangely calming. The bonus was that it also met exactly the goal of our hunt; it had a local theme, was by a local artist and, having won a national 2010 award to mark the 100th anniversary of the Pilgrim Monument, provided a permanent time link with the year we bought our Cape Codbed and breakfast. As quickly as you could swipe a credit card the deal was done and we happily took possession of a reflection of Lower Cape Cod, our new home.

The print in question, “Monument Reflection”, is by Truro resident and artist, Rebecca Bruyn, and employs a photographic processing technique known as cyanotype (or “blue-printing”). This process uses sunlight to react with an iron based coating on the print to create a mesmerizing blue hue that gives the print an interestingly subtle antique quality.

Our next challenge is to find the location at The Platinum Pebble boutique inn that will do the print the justice it deserves. As the design and renovation work moves forward we will no doubt be keeping an eye to possible places to position our Provincetown acquisition. If you follow the renovations via our newsletter, feel free to send us your ideas and suggestions for a location.

If you’re visiting Cape Cod to enjoy the blue-sky summers or the Fall colors and allow us to host you at The Platinum Pebble, be sure to take a look around the inn to see if you can find the print’s final location!